It has now come to the time that the universe of sport, especially football have been dreading for some time – the announcement from the football giant himself, Thierry Henry has now retired from playing the game he has dominated for the last 20 years. The Frenchman has enjoyed a fulfilling career at every level, celebrating trophies around every corner; whether at Arsenal, Barcelona or his beloved country France he achieved greatness beyond imagination.

Henry's career began at Monaco in his home country of France reaching a century of appearances from the wing, managing only 20 goals. His career never really kicked off until he moved from Juventus to Arsenal in 1999 following a bad spell with the Italian club that only lasted one season. This was when his fellow compatriot and managerial legend Arsene Wenger decided to play him as a striker; a position that clearly suited Henry as he then went on to become the goal scoring machine we all know him to be. Whilst in North London Thierry became immensely popular (unsurprisingly) with the worldwide Gooners as he broke records left, right and centre. His most renowned record is of course the top overall goal scoring record for Arsenal, netting 228 times – smashing another legendary ex-Gooner Ian Wright’s record by an incredible 43 goals despite playing many more games.

There are many specifically memorable moments for Arsenal fans and players alike, such as the goal he scored against Tottenham Hotspur in 2002 when they won the league. As well as it being a goal against Arsenal’s biggest ever rivals, his knee slide celebration inspired the statue that the club has made for him as commemoration for his wonderful time at the club of which he himself cried at the unveiling. Moreover, one goal that fans will certainly remember forever will be his world class solo goal against Real Madrid at the Burnabeu in the Champions League – the season where they were heartbroken in the final losing 2-1 to Barcelona. However, that goal certainly sparked wild celebrations from every Arsenal supporter that night.

In the historic season that Arsenal’s team became the invincibles, Thierry Henry was of course the highlight achieving the League top scorer spot with 30 goals in an incredible season for the North London Club. After this season the French prodigy was deservedly awarded the PFA player of the year award as well as the Golden Boot award to follow his goal scoring tally.

The most recent memory for Gooners is the return of the King to the Emirates during an MLS off season, back on loan for just over a month. In the time he netted twice and the best everyone will remember is the FA cup tie against Leeds United. Henry entered the field of play and after only a short space of time he showed the world he still has it, controlling an inch perfect pass from Alex Song expertly to then roll it calmly into the corner. What followed were mad scenes for everyone at the Emirates: fans, players and Wenger alike. One iconic moment was followed by another, with Henry passionately hitting the badge he so dearly loves, prior to a hug with the manager he called a ‘’father figure’’ in Arsene Wenger.

His next move took him to Barcelona where he joined a host of stars at the peak of their games, of which Henry slotted in perfectly. The King spent three seasons with the Catalonian giants scoring 49 goals in 121 appearances, a respectable return for a player people were starting to dub as ‘past it’. At Barcelona, Henry enjoyed winners medals seven times over the three year stint – two of which were the La Liga title and also one Champions League crown – a trophy that he never managed to win at Arsenal.

When we all thought his career was coming to an end, the mastermind still manged to tear things up in the big American city New York, bringing a whole new meaning of the sport to the nation, following the footsteps of the likes of David Beckham before him who ignited the love for the sport in the USA. Henry continued to show his class in New York, taking more of a back seat role providing outrageous assists rather than scoring countless goals. However, some of the goals he did score were of the highest order and showed there were still some matches left in the 37-year-old legs, including a stunning volley and an overhead kick. At Red Bulls he did gain trophy success, most admirable were the two Eastern Conference titles with the New York team.

These are just a few of the many accolades of Thierry Henry we can talk about, but for sport in general, his work speaks for itself. As a player, and a man the Frenchman can certainly be considered as one of the very greatest of all time. We will now leave you with some memorable quotes to enjoy from the superstar’s career, by him and many other admiring legends from the sport (with credit to Arsenal.com).

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“I’m obsessed by the idea of making my mark on history. And Arsenal is my paradise.” - Thierry Henry

“When we won the league at Tottenham, they came back 2-2 in the last-minute of the game, and they’re celebrating – because they’re happy to draw against us, obviously. And I remember saying to Mauricio Tarricco, do you realise we only need a point to be Champions? And they all [were really shocked]. So I said ‘Yes. Now we’re going to celebrate on your pitch. Bye bye!'” - Thierry Henry on winning the league at White Hart Lane

“What makes him special? He has a mixture of physical talent and technical ability, as well as remarkable intelligence and above all a great passion for the game.”
Arsène Wenger

“His sensational career was down simply to Thierry's class. He is a player who had everything you dream of as a manager - physical potential, a technical level, super intelligence and what people also forget for many top level athletes, is he was dedicated to his job, with a very serious life. He is simply a model professional who won everything you can in our world - Thierry, you were really special.” - Arsène Wenger unveils Thierry Henry's statue outside Emirates Stadium

"Ronaldinho is a special player, but Thierry Henry is probably technically the most gifted footballer ever to play the beautiful game." - Former team-mate Zinedine Zidane.